Heroes with no Homeland

Shadows of the Last War - part 3

15

AUG/12

Wirday 11 Therendor 998 YK

After nursing their wounds the party set to planning how to approach the ruined glass covered village of Rose Quarry. Sin offered numerous suggestions on how they should go about this. She also offered a deal that she would tell them where to go to find Whitehearth in exchange that when they find a certain pair of rings she take them with no questions asked. So, questions were asked and Sin was accused of extortion by Relic. In fact she was accused for a long time, even being told that if she did this again she would not be welcome in the party any more. Rose and Tayla did not seem to share the viewpoint and thought it a fair deal. But once things were sorted out the party rested in Failin’s elemental land cart while it stayed in motion so the Emerald Claw would have a harder time finding them.

Zorday 12 Therendor 998 YK

That night the mostly rested party set out to stealthily infiltrate the village. Sin moved around and spiderwalked along the ledge of the quarry to wait for her signal, while Tayla scouted into the village proper. The first thing they noticed was that the rhythmic ringing had stopped. In fact the whole village was dead quiet. After some further scouting Tayla discovered that there was nobody in Rose Quarry. Tayla went back to get the others and Sin proceeded to go to the refinery to get the locations of the other house Cannith facilities. Once the locations were mapped she set about breaking the map with the two shatter devices that Relic had made. With the locations of the other House Cannith facilities out of the hands of the Emerald Claw they proceeded to head in to the Dead-Gray Mist of the Mournland, with the help of Failin and his land cart.
A short and very disturbing ride to the wall of mist and then a seemingly far longer journey through the dead-gray mist they reached the wasteland that is the Mournland. Jagged glass jutting from the blasted and broken landscape. Very few plants growing in this land and those that are here look as dangerous as the rest of the place. The land cart trundled through piles of bodies that could just be sleeping, if not for some very gruesome wounds on them. Continueing on through the charnel pit and further until they reached an open mine entrance with the gorgon of House Cannith embossed above it.
Disembarking from the land cart the party investigated the entrance when a zombie vulture dove into Rose and tore at her shoulder. The party dispatched the undead bird leaving Rose covered in Zombie guts and slime. Sin moved into the mine with her everbright lantern looking to see what is in the mine. After a quick search Sin discovered that the mine was empty and didn’t look like there was anyone here for a very long time. The rest of the party joined her in the mine to commence searching for an entrance. The party found hatches, 4-foot circular adamantine hatches, into Whitehearth. The first three hatches were trapped decoys, electrocuting various party members, but the last one lead down into the facility.
Once they climbed down they were in a dimly lit, 20-foot diameter sphere with a metal plate set into a pedestal with different colored, enameled slots. Inserting the blue keycharm that Lady Elaydren gave them at the Broken Anvil back in Sharn. The room rotated to reveal a new hallway. Down at the end of the hall was a room where sheets and linens were folding themselves. Going back to the rotator room they tried another slot, rotating the room again coming out into a short hall that led to an office. With a dead woman slumped over a desk. Sin kept as much space between herself and the body as she could. Searching the room they found a scroll of resist energy.
Going back and trying the next blue slot in line the came to a much longer plain gray hall with blood trailing down the hall to the rooms at the end of the hall. At the end of the hall three portals; an open archway to the left, a door propped open straight ahead, and a sealed metal door to the right. The party advanced, and Sin avoided the blood, where they were greeted by a raspy voice welcoming them. The voice turned out to be a very large reddish-gray dire wolf flanked by two other gray wolves. The dire wolf told them of various threats within the facility, that she knew of. Asking them to deal with the “stone wolf” that was holding the rest of her pack. Once the party agreed to help Rorsa, the dire wolf, she gave them a magic pearl and a green keycharm.
During this, Sin noticed a certain pair of rings on two of the bodies in the room. A man and a woman seated across from each other, hands close by. Each wore one of a pair of matching rings, made of rose gold set with three rubies. Sin got Rose to get the rings off of the bodies for her.
After the encounter with Rorsa the party went back to the rotator room and tried the green keycham that lead down to another rotator room. Having the only option to be the green keycharm the rotator room spun into position revealing a dimly lit hall. Heading down the hall the party was attacked by the “stone wolf.” A creature has the shape of a wolf, but plates of black marble have been fused to its flesh. In additons to the stone armor that shields its flanks, its muzzle has been replaced by and elongated maw filled with row upon row of obsidian teeth.
The creature tore into Tayla and shreaded Rune’s leg with its razor sharp obsidian teeth. In the end the party put down the mad creature. In the room beyond the “stone wolf” eleven steel cages filled the room. Seven gray wolves filled the cages. They were very unhappy but Tayla managed to calm them and even made friends with the wolves. Searching the refuse in the room the party found some minor treasure and an orange keycharm.
Taking an assessment of the damage they have sustained they took the wolves back to Rorsa and decided to rest. Sin decided to go and rest over in the laundry room since she didn’t want to be near the wolves, especially the awakened dire wolf.